Just a Maid
by Elle6
Summary: *Prequel to The Maid and the Potions Master* The end has come, and Voldemort won. Hermione disguises herself as a maid, but will Snape realise her true identity? *Complete!*


**Just a Maid**

            The End had come swiftly.  It had been Hermione, Ron and Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts.  The Death Eaters had come in Mid-October. A class of First-Years had been attending their flying lesson on the Quidditch pitch.  None of them survived.

            It had been chaos, and soon the whole school was on the Quidditch pitch, fighting for not just their lives, but their way of life. Most fought with Doumbledore, but some sneaked over to the other side and began fighting, showing their true colours.  All the first years were out fighting, using their pitiful spells against Death Eaters who just laughed at them, before using the killing curse.

            Dumbledore was killed. Harry was also killed trying to avenge his mentor's death. Lucius Malfoy found this amusing, so he killed the boy fast.

            Ron perished in the fight also, at the hands of a nameless Death Eater. Hermione saw this, and was stunned for a few seconds. Then she ran.

            She did not run for the castle, but into the dark woods of the Forbidden Forest. Her eyes were blurred by tears, and so she stumbled over something. It was a body of a dead Death Eater. She spit at him, and continued running.

            She knew how to defend herself from the creatures in the forest. She simply cast a few protecting wards around herself and soon not a single creature could be found near her. She decided to hide there, forever if she could. Days went by, then weeks. She slept on the ground, and ate the berries and plants that she had read were edible. But she knew that she would eventually be found.

            So she cast a permanent Glamourie on herself so that she could never be recognized. Sometime she would sneak into Hogsmead and grab some food. On her second trip she overheard a woman talking about how all the half-bloods and muggle bornes parents had been killed. That night she sobbed for hours thinking of how her parents had died.  They had never really trusted the magic that Hermione loved, and now they were dead because she had forced them to let her go.

            She was found a few days later, stealing a blanket from a Hogsmead home. But she was no longer Hermione Granger. She had long silver hair that was straight and black eyes instead of her brown ones. No one recognized her, so she was not killed like so many countless muggle-bornes had been. 

            The faceless thugs grabbed her, arresting her for stealing. She did not receive a trial, for they had been abolished when Voldemort took control of the Ministry. She was placed in a cell for a few days, receiving only the necessities during her stay. Some food was shoved through her cell door, and once a day she received a jug of water. Eventually she was let out of the dark, dank cell. She was told she had been spared death because she was needed 'for the betterment of the reign of Voldemort.' She had no idea what this meant, and really didn't care. 

            She was taken to a chateau in France and told that she was to keep it clean. She did. There were three house elves that worked in the kitchen, and she soon befriended them. The chateau was large, and so she always seemed to be working.

            A few months after she first arrived, the family that owned the home came for a weekend visit. It was the Malfoys.

            From what Hermione was able to overhear they were now the leading Wizarding family. Lord Voldemort was now ruler, and Lucius was his right hand man.

            Draco once looked at her a bit suspiciously once, but nothing was said to her except the usual demands of the rich. They beat her occasionally for trivial things, but otherwise she was completely ignored. She didn't mind, and tried to stay away from them.

            The years passed by quickly. Hermione absorbed herself in her work every day so that she need not think of what she had done, of how she had betrayed her friends. But at night there was no dusting to keep the nightmares away.

            She would have awful dreams. But Hermione kept on living.

            The world was a mess. Voldemort continued to take over countries by force. All who were not full supporters of him were either killed, or put into slavery. Hermione heard of the slave auctions and of how the slaves were treated.  She almost counted herself lucky simply because she was not beaten every day. 

            The resistance had fallen a few years after Voldemort took power.  They had all either died or been put into slavery.

Her life became more and more miserable. And her work became sloppy. The Malfoys came one summer, and when they noticed that one of the rooms seemed to have been entirely forgotten in her normal rounds, she was whipped, more than for the trivial things, and told of what would happen if it occurred again.

But it did. Just a few months later they dropped in for a weekend retreat and found a dinning room to have dust on the mantle.  She was beaten again.

The very next day she was told to pack her things. She didn't have much, so she was back in a few minutes. She was afraid that she was going to be sold into slavery. 

Instead she was handed a nice new black robe and told to go change. She was very worried at the robe, but had no idea why she was receiving it. Then they gave her a piece of paper and told her to give it to her new master, and shoved her into the fireplace, yelling 'Snape Manor.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            She fell on a hard, cold floor and looked around. She was in a cold, stone room with stone walls, ceilings and floors. There were lots of shelves all around with potions ingredients and dead items suspended in liquids. Hermione was fascinated with the things in the jars, and wanted to go over and look closer at them, but she knew where she was, and she knew who her new master was, and she had no intention of making him mad.

            She stood up and dusted herself off.  Her new black robe now had soot on it, and she couldn't get most of it off. Her wand had been taken away from her long ago, so she gave up. She grabbed her bag, and began to walk out of what she assumed was a storage closet.

            But she was stopped by a large black thing entering the room. It also stopped, and looked at her. She figured that this must be a ten years older version of her formidable potions master, so she curtsied low and handed him the paper.

            He grabbed it out of her hand, and read it quickly. Then he looked her up and down. He turned and walked out of the room.

            Hermione was puzzled. Had she been dismissed? Or was she to follow him? She followed him, figuring that she could always claim that she had been going to the kitchen, even though she didn't know where it was.

            She followed him down a hallway, up a grand staircase, and down another hallway. He never even looked back to make sure she was following. He then stopped in front of a door and opened it. Then he walked away.

            Hermione looked into the room, and saw that it was a bedroom. She figured that this was where she was to stay, so she went in and put down her things.  It was a small bedroom, with a small bed in the center. There was a very tiny bathroom off to one side. Hermione sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

            The next day she walked back the way Snape had brought her to her room, and wandered around. It was still very early, so when she bumped into something large and black in the early morning twilight she let out a little scream.

            The black thing moved away and started walking down a hallway that Hermione had not yet been down. She followed him and soon he left her in front of another open door. It was the kitchen.

            She walked in and was surrounded by little house elves. They all wanted to know who she was and where she came from. She told them she was just a maid, and that she had been sent here from Malfoy Chateau.  Then they went back to work, telling her that after the master left they would take her on a tour of the house.

            They made a beautiful breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, waffles, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Hermione helped them bring it out to the dinning room, and then they waited until Snape entered. She asked if he needed anything else, and he said some black coffee. 

            She quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed the pot that was bubbling on the stove. She brought it out to him, and then went back into the kitchen.  She had a quick breakfast, and then she was given a tour of the house.

            It was huge, with many different styles of bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, salons, libraries, and such. She was amazed at the house, but was solemn because she knew that all this was because her friends no longer were.

            The elves seemed rather disorganized, and because the house was so big she was not going to be the one doing the cleaning, just directing the cleaning. She organized the elves and gave them each a certain area to clean.  They rotated areas every month and this way they didn't get bored and start to miss things. 

            Hermione took care of the important areas, like the master bedroom, and the potions lab. She hardly ever saw Snape, and he never talked to her after the first time of asking her for coffee. The elves served him breakfast after that.

            The months blurred together, and soon she had been there a year. She had scrubbed his potions laboratory floor too many times to count after experimental potions had gone wrong. She had polished the hard wood floors each month, and cleaned all the bathrooms regularly. 

            She had monitored the gardening elves, and had designed a new small garden. She would go out there sometimes and pull weeds. With as little as she was outdoors her skin was turning very pale, and was almost the same color as her hair.

            Whenever she saw Snape, which wasn't very often, he seemed to stare at her, and search her face.  She didn't like this because she didn't want him to recognize her, so she avoided him like the plague.

            One day she was in the kitchen early in the morning helping with a cake that was for a formal dinner later that day. Snape came into the kitchen a stared straight at her.

            'I knew it,' he said, so quiet it was almost a whisper. He had aged well, and his hair was no longer greasy. His nose had been straightened, and the few wrinkles he had only made him look more distinguished.

            'Pardon, sir?' Hermione said. 

            'Hermione Ganger. Know it all brat. Why are you still alive?' Snape hissed.

            'I don't know what you're talking about, sir.' Hermione said. No one had ever asked her name. She was just the maid, nothing more.  And now someone knew her secret. And not just anyone, but it had to be Professor Severus Snape, the third in command of Lord Voldemorts forces. The slimy, greasy git of a potions master. She continued kneading the bread she was baking. 

            'You are Hermione Granger. You dye your hair blonde and have different colored eyes, but you are definitely that brat that I used to hate.' Snape hissed. He slowly approached her, looking deep into her face.

            'I do not dye my hair, and I don't know what you are talking about, sir!' Hermione said. She grabbed a different bowl full of dough and started stirring with her back turned to Snape. He swept out of the room, and as soon as the door slammed behind him Hermione broke down in tears.

            He knew who she was, and he could sentence her to death by just telling someone, or he could kill her himself and never let anyone know. She was just a maid. Everyone though Hermione Granger had died in the fight, and that her body was among the others on the Quidditch pitch of what used to be Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But it wasn't, and she was Hermione Granger.

            Days went by without Hermione seeing Snape. She almost wanted him to kill her so that she wouldn't have this awful feeling of suspense making her want to cry all the time.

            He had gone away 'on business' and two weeks after their confrontation he returned. She didn't see him for a few days after he returned but one day he found her polishing the hard wood floors in the entryway. 

            'Are you Hermione Granger?' He said quietly from behind her. She hadn't noticed his presence until he spoke, and it startled her. She bumped the bucket of polish and it spilled all over the floor.

            'Oh, Merlin's Beard.' She said in a whisper as she quickly tried to soak up the spill. Snape waved his wand and it all disappeared.

            'Answer my question.' He said in his low voice.

            'Why does it matter? I'm just the maid, sir.' Hermione said, not looking at him.

            'Answer the question.' His voice had a dangerous tone.

            'I am.' Hermione said and braced herself for the killing curse.

            'I thought so.' Snape said. He turned around and walked away.

            Hermione sighed as she listened to his steps fade away. She didn't know what he would do, now that he knew who she really was. But at least she was still alive.

            Weeks passed by slowly, but Snape acted the way he always had towards her. He never talked to her, but sometimes he would bow his head slightly as she passed. This worried her, simply because she didn't know what it meant. 

            She continued to work as hard as ever, and three elf rotations passed. There seemed to be an unusual amount of explosions to clean up, and she noticed that his normal monthly extravagant dinner seemed to have changed to only every other month.

            One day he passed her in the hall and he bowed. She automatically curtsied, but this small thing made her lose a lot of sleep over the next few weeks.

            The elves didn't know how to act around the two of them. There seemed to be something going on, but they didn't know what. They were skitterish and even more nervous than normal. They gave themselves more punishments than normal because they thought it might be something that they were doing wrong without knowing it.  The two humans in the house were oblivious to the elves plight, only seeing their own problems.

            A few months after telling Snape that she was Hermione Granger, she decided she must confront him.  The anticipation was killing her, and she could not stand it any longer.

            She found him in his favorite library. It had dark mahogany paneling and soft leather armchairs. He was reading a book in a chair that faced the window overlooking the gardens.

            'Excuse me, sir?' Hermione said as she entered the room. Snape was surprised, but did not let it show.

            'The gardens look lovelier than ever. Thank you for working on them.' Snape said.

            'Sir, I'm here to ask you what you intend to do.' Hermione said.

            'What I intend to do about what? The gardens look lovely, and I wouldn't want you to change a thing.' He said. He knew perfectly well what she meant, but he felt that he needed to keep her wondering for just a few more moments.

            'No, sir. That's not what I meant. I was asking about what you are going to do now that you know who I am.' Hermione said. She began to tremble, knowing that this was when she would find out what her fate would be. Public Execution? Or would he just kill her here and now?

            'Oh, yes. Well, I've gotten you a new identity. You are now Marilyn Zarcharias. You were born in Switzerland from a family that no one has heard of. Of course I'll give you more details about that later.' Snape said. He still hadn't turned around and looked at her. He remained in his seat speaking into his book.

            'You mean I will live?' Hermione said. Her heart was beating fast.

            'Yes.'

            'Thank you, sir.' She said, breathlessly. He didn't seem to like he would speak again, so she slowly backed out of the room, careful not to make any noise. 

            The next morning she awoke to find a new pair of robes on her bed. She wasn't sure what she was to do with them, but she put them on, and then went down to the kitchen. Breakfast was almost ready, and the elves anticipated their master to be down any second.

             Hermione helped with the last touches on the large pot of scrambled eggs, and the big plate of pan cakes. The elves quickly brought it all out, and she sat down at the small table in the kitchen to enjoy her coffee before she went to do her rounds.

            The kitchen door swung open, admitting Severus Snape himself into the kitchen. Hermione practically dropped her cup. 

            'Sir! Is anything the matter?' Hermione stood quickly, and tried not to look too alarmed.

            'You are to join me for breakfast from now on.' He grabbed her arm, and led her into the dinning room. She was dazed. He guided her into the chair across from his, and then he sat down. 

            The elves were confused again. One of them quickly rushed into the kitchen to put his hands in the oven door. They served Master Snape as always, and also served Hermione. 

            So many thoughts were running through Hermione's head. She sat there, staring across the table at Snape. Once their plates had been filled, Snape began to eat, and Hermione looked down at her food. 

            'Most people eat when good food is placed before them.' Snapes voice cut through the silence.

            Hermione picked up her fork, and looking up slightly to see if he was still staring at her, which he was, she scooped up some eggs, and put them in her mouth. They didn't speak after that, and once breakfast was over Snape stood up, pulled out her chair to allow her to get up, and then walked out.

            Hermione went about her work mechanically that day. The next day she was in the kitchen until he came in for breakfast, then walked into the room carrying oatmeal in with her. He was waiting for her, standing behind her chair, and once she set the pot down he pulled it out for her, and waited until she had seated herself before sitting. They didn't speak, and he left again after pulling out her chair once she was done eating, and allowing her to leave first. 

            She was becoming more and more puzzled as the days went by, and soon they were having conversations during breakfast. Nothing earth shattering, just talking about the weather, and the gardens. They ate in silence most of the time, and their conversations were only occasional. 

            One day, Snape was late for breakfast.  When he came in, he was all muddy, and on his face there were some gashes. Hermione jumped out of her chair, and rushed over to him. He waved her away, and sat down in his chair. She hovered near him for a moment, but he motioned for her to sit down, so she did. 

            'Sir, are you alright?' she asked quietly.

            'Where's the food?' he said, but kept his eyes down.

            The elves hurried out with the crepes and Canadian bacon. Snape quickly put some food on his plate, and began eating. His wounds were still bleeding, and some of the mud dripped off him. Hermione ate very little, and continued to watch him closely. 

            They finished eating, and he stood to leave. As he approached the door, he collapsed. Hermione rushed over to him, and told the elves to get some bandages and such. She used a napkin to wipe the grime off his face. He was out cold, and Hermione didn't know how she could help him. The elves came, carrying with them bandages, some antiseptic, and a few potions from his lab. She quickly cleaned his wounds on his face the muggle way, and then placed bandages on them. As she reached over him to grab one of the bottles she bumped his leg with her arm. He twisted away from her, and made an un-human sound. 

            'Shit.' Hermione whispered to herself. _He must be wounded elsewhere. _'Go get a new pair of robes for Master Severus.' She yelled at the elves. A few stayed with her, and they began to carefully undress him. He had a long gash on his leg, and another that looked very deep on his chest. He had turned very pale, and was shaking. Hermione tipped his head back, and poured down his throat a potion labeled 'Pain reliever.' He stopped shaking. 

            The elves returned with the fresh robes, and Hermione quickly cleaned the rest of his wounds. Some small cuts were on his back, and he had mud everywhere. Once se was done, she quickly dressed him in the new robe, and then tried to get him to drink another potion to help with the healing of the wounds. He wouldn't open his mouth, where before he had been slack, almost like a dead body. Hermione took this as a good and bad sign. _He must be gaining consciousness but he needs to drink this potion!_  

            She tried once more to open his mouth. His eyes snapped open and he looked around him. He seemed confused at first, but then he tried to sit up. Hermione helped him, and after a few moments that were obviously painful for him, despite the potion, he was able to sit. 'What the hell happened?' He gasped.

            'I don't now, sir.' Hermione said. _I was about to ask you the same thing..._

            'I must be going now.' He said. He looked around himself once more, seeming slightly confused. 'Please come to the library at nine tonight. I need to speak with you.' He didn't look at her as he said it. He still didn't seem to know where he was.

            'You can't go anywhere like this!' Hermione said. She immediately put her hand over her mouth. 'Excuse me, sir.' She started to get up, but he grabbed her arm, and pulled her down on top of him.

            She gasped, and tried to get away, but he was strong, despite his wounds. He held onto her, and then slowly brought his lips to hers. She didn't know what to do. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, and before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him back. He grabbed her back, and lay back down with her on top of him. They continued to kiss, getting more and more passionate.

            The poor house elves slowly backed away from the sight before them. The maid...and the master...it was too much for them to handle. There was a stampede to the oven, and many later that night had bandaged hands and other random appendages. 

            Hermione was lost in the feel of his mouth against hers, and the rawness of the feeling of his tongue claiming hers in this fiery kiss. Suddenly he broke their connection, and sat up. 

            'Excuse me. I must leave.' He said. 'Please go to the library at nine.' He stood up, and smoothed his robes, then looked down at where she still sat sprawled on the floor. He extended his hand to her, and helped her get up, then pulled her into a tight embrace and pressed his moth to hers again. She didn't know what to do. Her mind had hardly had time to clear from his last kiss. It lasted only a second, and then he was gone. 

            Hermione stood there for a solid ten minutes. She shook her head once, and then began to clean up the bandages and potions. 

            The day went by much too fast in Hermione's opinion. Snape had left the house that morning, and came back around seven. He had a quick dinner, and then went to his study. Hermione soon found herself listening to the grandfather clock ring nine times, as she stood outside the library. She opened the door, and looked in cautiously. Snape was sitting in one of the big backed chairs across the room from where she was standing. He looked up at her as the door opened. She walked towards where he was sitting, and he simply watched her the whole time. Her heart was beating, and she didn't feel like she could breathe very well. 

            He motioned for her to sit in the chair across from him. Hermione did, and her heart began to beat even faster, although she hadn't thought that possible. Was she supposed to speak, or he? 

            After a moment where Hermione felt like she would explode from all of the uneasiness between them, he spoke.

            'Do you remember what I told you about your new identity?' he said. 

            'Yes, my name is Marilyn Zarcharias. You got a new identity for me.' She said, wondering where this was going.

            'Where are you from?' he asked.

            'Switzerland?' she said, not sure.

            'Yes, but you need to be positive. We can't have you saying Switzerland one day, and Holland the next.'

            'Yes, sir.'

            'And stop with the "sir" nonsense. My name is Severus, call me that.' 

            'Yes...Severus.' It felt wrong on her tongue, and at the same time right.

            He got up and walked the few steps to her chair, and bent down to look her in the eyes. 'Do you regret this morning? No, I can see it in your eyes that you do not.' He slowly brought his face closer, and then kissed her softly. She responded, but a little more timidly than she had that morning. He quickly opened her mouth with his tongue and thrust in. She responded, becoming more and more lost in his kiss. She forgot about everything else around her, until he picked her, up and sat down in his chair with her on his lap. Then she became away of his need of her.

            He began to touch her. On her back his hand made large circles, and he ran his fingers through her hair. She wiggled against him from the feeling of his hands all over her, and pressed herself up against him even more, seeking more of his touch. 

            His hands became slower, and he slowly pulled his mouth from hers. She found this alarming, and tried to make him continue touching her. He stopped and pushed her away from him a little so he could look in her eyes. She just wanted to feel his hands on her again.

            'Hermione, we can't do this anymore. It isn't right, and someone will notice. I admit that I was the one who started this, but it cannot continue.' He said softly. 'I'm sorry.'

            'Why?' Hermione's voice cracked slightly. 

            'Because I will lose control of myself.'

            'Then lose control.' Hermione claimed his mouth with hers once more, and pressed her body against his as much as she could. He responded, and began to touch her unlike he had before. Hermione was in heaven, and she never wanted it to stop.

            He finally pulled away from her. 'Then will you marry me?' He said quietly.

            Hermione was stunned. 'You want to marry me?' she said. It was impossible, she was his maid!

            'Of course. But I want to see the old Hermione. Not physically, but I want to see your intelligence again.' He said as he began to trace circles on her back again.

            'I will. I will marry you. Just kiss me again!'

~~~~~~

            They were married Severus Snape and Marilyn Zarcharias. It was a beautiful wedding. Wizard weddings are quite like muggle ones, minus the church and the pastor. Theirs took place in their ballroom at Snape Manor, with Lucius Malfoy as the leader of the mass. They were bonded magically to each other, as was tradition. They had a wonderful reception afterwards, if it hadn't have been for all the Death Eaters. But they were necessary. Lord Voldemort himself made a short appearance only to wish the bride good luck, and when no one was looking to pinch her ass. Dirty old bastard..

            The little house elves still found it wrong that the maid was marrying the master, and many were found slamming their fingers in doors for years to come.  The maid and the Potions master.


End file.
